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‘Mississippi Masala’: Exploring Post-Colonialism, ‘Indophobia’, and South Asian Anti-Blackness
Set against the backdrop of the 1972 Indian expulsion from Idi Amin’s Uganda, this arthouse film remains important in examining themes around post-colonialism, xenophobia, colorism, and anti-blackness within the South Asian community.
Recently stumbling upon this film, I joked to my good friend that we ought to watch it simply based on its title alone. We have a corny sense of humor, and a movie titled ‘Mississippi Masala’ would provide no shortage of laughter from what was sure to be a cheesy plot about the relationship between a Black guy and an Indian girl living in the American South. The movie ended up being quite good in a serious way — despite maintaining an overall lighthearted vibe, it introduces racial dynamics never explored in either Hollywood or Bollywood: South Asians’ relationship with Africans and African-Americans. Director Mira Nair’s showcasing of complex themes against the backdrop of the 1972 Asian expulsion from Uganda makes her unique film worth revisiting.
‘Indophobia’ in Uganda — An unintended consequence of…erm, ‘Integrate and Conquer’?
The movie starts in Kampala, Uganda in 1972, and President Idi Amin has just issued a decree stating Asians are to be expelled from the country. For context, most Asian immigrants in Uganda at the time were originally from the Indian subcontinent — around 80,000 Indians in total. Indian families had been living in Uganda for many generations, emigrating during the time of British colonial rule in India. Many Indians had been brought by the British as early as the late 19th century to build the country’s railway system.
The movie follows the story of a young Indian family — a mother, father, and their daughter Mina, who flee from Uganda and settle in Greenwood, Mississippi. Having lived a comfortable life in Uganda, as Mina’s father Jay was a wealthy lawyer, the family is now forced to start from scratch and begin earning a meager living working at a motel. Jay yearns to return to Uganda, considering himself to be “Ugandan first, Indian second”. He has flashbacks of his childhood growing up in Kampala with his best friend Okelo, who coldly tells him at the time of Amin’s expulsion order that he should indeed leave — “Africa is for…
